Daughter fears for missing father

Zoe McAnish said she needed to know her father was safe

The daughter of a missing musician from Stirling has made an emotional appeal for information about her father.

Zoe McAnish, 24, whose 45-year-old father John was last seen by a friend on 2 April, said she feared the worst.

The guitar player from Causewayhead was taking medication after receiving a kidney transplant when he disappeared.

Central Scotland Police said extensive searches of the Stirling area using dogs and underwater search teams had failed to find any trace of him.

Speaking during the appeal, Ms McAnish, a primary school teacher from Stirling, said her father had suffered difficulties following the death of his parents a few years ago and the break up of a long-term relationship.

Every person that passes me in the street, I look to see if it's my dad. Every time the phone rings, I hope it's him Zoe McAnish

She said she had joined the police search for him and was becoming desperate for news that he was safe.

She added: "As time goes on, we are fearing the worst.

"He's never had the confidence to travel far on his own and we just need to know that he is safe and well.

"Every person that passes me in the street, I look to see if it's my dad. Every time the phone rings, I hope it's him."

'Anti-rejection medicine'

Ch Insp Kevin Findlater said the investigation into Mr McAnish's disappearance had revealed that his mobile phone had been used three days after the last confirmed sighting of him.

Ch Insp Findlater said: "What we've just found out today is that his phone was used two or three times on the 5th and had a brief activation on the 7th.

"That may just have been a spurious signal but the 5th is the last time it was actively used to make calls."

Mr McAnish requires medication after receiving a kidney transplant

Ch Insp Findlater said the missing man's bank account had not been used since his disappearance and that concerns were growing for his health.

He added: "John had a kidney transplant some five or six years ago and there's a need for him to take anti-rejection medicine.

"We know that in mid-March he had a supply. If he's taking it, that supply will run out this week.

"If he stops taking the medication, he has about two weeks then we would have serious cause for concern for his welfare."

Mr McAnish is described as stocky, 5ft 7in tall, with balding, cropped brown hair.

When last seen he was wearing a distinctive khaki-coloured parka which has goggles sewn into the hood of the thigh-length jacket.